Ride documentation questions

For those of you that take pictures on rides I need some advice. I took some pictures of the last ride that I went on. See: Tucson Weekend ride report

But i almost took very few pictures. So the questions:

a) where do you carry your camera? I find that pulling my camera out of my camelbak is a pain but I can't think of any other place to carry it that would be safe to it and to my body if I fell on it. I use a digital ELPH for riding shots.

b) do you stage photo op's or do you just jump off and snap candid's? I was just taking pictures of convenience of those who were behind me riding and those who were who were in front of me standing around. How do you mix it up? Do you ride ahead and stage a spot to snap pics then catch up and do it again?

c)Do you also make everyone stand for groups or just do candids of groups?
I have pictures of everyone from the ride except Erin (AZ Flyer) who I never caught on film some how. This is more of a poll question than an advice question. I have a folding mini tripod that I use for groups and self portraits but I forgot it on this ride.

a) where do you carry your camera? I find that pulling my camera out of my camelbak is a pain but I can't think of any other place to carry it that would be safe to it and to my body if I fell on it. I use a digital ELPH for riding shots.

I always have my camera with me but rarely take pics for the same reason. Too much of a pain to take it out.

My shots are 90% random candid shots. Every once in awhile if someone is gonna hit something big or I suspect a crash I grab the camera. Would love to grab some action shots but who wants to stop riding to take pictures?

Obviously if you are going to stop and get off your bike to take pictures without too much need for speed, the less convenient access you need. But for me, since 99% of my pictures are scenery or wildlife and of course wildlife doesn't tend to stop and pose for a portrait, I carry my camera in small camera bag on my chest. And because I care more for picture quality (read: more expensive lens) rather than size, my Canon digital is a bit larger than the latest mini-digitals. So I got the smallest bag I could find with a velcro closure to hold the camera and I run the cross-chest strap of my CamelBak through the back of the bag. With the velcro top I'm able to pull the camera out at a moments notice. Many times I've pulled the camera out and snapped a picture without stopping, even a few times without hardly slowing my pace.

For shorter rides when I don't use my CamelBak, I carry the camera in a small fanny pack. It has worked well whe shooting scenery, but for the wildlife action shots, like the time a group of Javelina ran across the trail ahead of me... by time I could slide the fanny pack around, unzip and remove the camera, t'weren't nary a swingin' tail left to capture.

I can't even remember where I got my camera bag, but I don't believe it was at a camera shop... seems I had kept an eye out for some time seeking just the right thing and yet it was probably like finding something you weren't looking for when looking for something else.

I'm sure if you give it a little thought and use a little ingenuity you'll come up with what works for you.

What i am concerned with is that I like to ride hard and I don't want to crash and have the camera contribute to a broken bone or internal damage. I have tried a variety of locations on my body including a back pocket and a thight pocket but they require that I ride with baggies on and I don't do that all summer so it is limiting plus the thigh location greatly increases the chance of a serious thigh injury far from anywhere.

I would think that a hip mount might be choice but I would not want it sliding around to the front and getting pinched between my gut and thigh.

I have actually ridden and snapped pictures with the camera in my mouth between technical sections but that just was a bad situation waiting to happen, plus my humid breath fogged the lense so the pictures were subpar anyways.

I hear ya... I broke my little pinkie bad (sheared the bone through) and crunched the side of my helmet late last year, but not only did my camera not cause the fall, it didn't receive any damage at all.

As I mentioned, I carry it on my chest. What I failed to mention is I added another strap to my CamelBak higher on the chest than the original and using both it not only keeps the camera well above the gut, it keeps it from bouncing around, which for me is great because much of my riding is on some rough and rocky terrain.

First let me admit I'm a little particular about MTB and taking pictures.

I carry my camera (s) in my camelbak. every other place only gets in your way and/or will cause much pain if and when you fall on it. if you just have a P&S then it really doesn't take that long to get it out. I'll bet the start up is longer than the time you spend taking your pack off and pulling out the camera.

My SLR takes a little longer to get out, but that's sort of the point.

second. When I really want to take pictures, I'm not on a real ride. for me the focus has to change, cause I'm an "arteest".

regaurdless, I always ride off the front during breaks. set up for a shot, hope that everyone is patient enough, then race to catch up once they're gone by. repeat all day long. Let me tell you, this will get you in shape. but you miss a lot of shots this way.

i carry my casio exilim in my camelbak, in the top mesh pocket. i got a long lanyard that i leave hanging out for easy access. when i want to take a pic, i stop, pull the camelbak over my shoulders a bit and reach with my other hand for the lanyard. when i'm done i repeat the procedure making sure the lanyard hangs out.
piece o cake

Yeah, I dig that

Originally Posted by brianc

First let me admit I'm a little particular about MTB and taking pictures.

I carry my camera (s) in my camelbak. every other place only gets in your way and/or will cause much pain if and when you fall on it. if you just have a P&S then it really doesn't take that long to get it out. I'll bet the start up is longer than the time you spend taking your pack off and pulling out the camera.

My SLR takes a little longer to get out, but that's sort of the point.

second. When I really want to take pictures, I'm not on a real ride. for me the focus has to change, cause I'm an "arteest".

regaurdless, I always ride off the front during breaks. set up for a shot, hope that everyone is patient enough, then race to catch up once they're gone by. repeat all day long. Let me tell you, this will get you in shape. but you miss a lot of shots this way.

I am all about nice shots and stuff but the mountain biker in me overwhelms the artist in me any time I get on my bike. I just find myself all of a sudden going "geez that would make a nice picture" hopping off my bike and snapping a poorly thought out and framed shot.

I just forget about the camera in the heat of the battle. I think that a more pronounced location for the camera would give me a better chance of actually snapping a shot and grabbing my riding partners to return and try that section again.

I was thinking about trying a triathlon food basket that sits on the TT and wraps the stem such as: bento box with a modified velcro closure and a cushioned interior pocket. The only concern I would have would be racking myself on it.

It could quite possibly fit on the down tube and snug around the heat tube still and still be stable.

I hear ya... I broke my little pinkie bad (sheared the bone through) and crunched the side of my helmet late last year, but not only did my camera not cause the fall, it didn't receive any damage at all.

As I mentioned, I carry it on my chest. What I failed to mention is I added another strap to my CamelBak higher on the chest than the original and using both it not only keeps the camera well above the gut, it keeps it from bouncing around, which for me is great because much of my riding is on some rough and rocky terrain.

I really enjoy snapping pics on rides. I also carry my small point&shoot camera (Fujifilm F10) in a velcro case (Lowepro - bought at Best Buy) attached to my Camelbak chest strap. Like KidAtHeartBiker, I've taken many a shot while still riding but mostly I try to ride ahead of the group and snap action shots with riders coming towards me. I've never had a crash incident where the camera was damaged or did damage to me, but I have made the mistake of leaving the camera on the trail after taking off my Camelbak and having the camera case slip off the open chest strap. The camera is small enough that it doesn't slap around while riding - I don't even notice it is there. And then sometimes it isn't there and I have to backtrack and find it.

Recently on a Hawes ride, BrianC brought his big camera. We were startled by a pack of wild horses on Wild Horse Trail. Brian couldn't get out his camera in time and I did not have my small one with me. The horses had paused and were all fussed up - it was a beautiful sight that I wish I could have shared with you all.

Cellphone bag

I have used a small Dirt Rag cell phone bag straped to my Camelback for about 6 years and have never hurt my camera, or myself with it, in a crash. On mellower trails I have also straped it to my stem much like the bento box.

If I spot a great place for a shot on a ride as I ride by I will make a mental note for next time instead of stopping the group and turning them around for the shot.

Almost all of my shots are staged. I like to set up, take the shot from multiple angles, with riders, and without, focus on foreground, focus on background, etc. Of course, this doesn't really work for a large group ride, it has to be with someone else who is patient, or also wants good shots, or just go on a ride by yourself. I agree with Brianc, if I'm really going to focus on taking pictures, it'll be less of a real ride. I think random shots work better than staged shots on a large group ride though.

I take my little Canon on almost every ride and keep it in the outer pocket of my Blowfish. Taking pics is a pain, and I am just sick of the non-action shots. However, on occasion, I will ride ahead and set up and get some good action pics, like these:

I think I will try a chest strap or waist belt mount for my camera. It is a small one and quite old too which is why I now have interest in taking riding pictures.

I like the candids over the staged myself as well but it is hard to get them when candid moments require one to have camera at ready. I will give some of these tips a try this upcoming weekend at Fantasy Island I think.